Big Paw Hunters
by Irual
Summary: This is part of the What If Project started by Cimar of Turalis ...is Big Paw just a myth or something more?Detective Ralph Wolfard has his side of the story while Judy and Nick have something else up their in our friends as they head for the wilds of Bunnyburrow to find out what the 'real' story is won't you?Enjoy this n be cont.ifasked
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia or any of it's cannon content. Nor do I own the AWESOME stories by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps (like Always My Sly Bunny, Always My Dumb Fox.) For which this is written as part of his What-If collaboration. (Also I got the name of Nick's Mom from Cimar's collaboration with Zanrok called The Zootopia Princess Bride.

Almost obligatory AN here: (the only one for this story as far as I can see) My Own story about Zootopia on , Zootopia 2 Learning Curve; will be updated AND finished. My writers block has been obliterated by this really Neat-o project so fear not my friends I WILL finish!

I have BORROWED WITH permission the 10-7 bar and it's original patrons and crew from Bluelighthouse in the set up chapter of this story. THEY belong to him and are really great so thanks to you my friend. I also borrowed with permission the names and species of Bunnyburrow's sheriff and deputy from the story Old Arrangements by Zanrok (read ALL his stories! Right after this one! GO! DO IT! But beware, once you do you will never escape his grinchy genius).

The stories Guardian Blue seasons 1 and 2 by Saris and Safe Paws by Midnightopheliac are also recent reads of mine (really great ones BTW) so...they might have influenced Nick and Judy a bit in this story as well as King in Yellow. All his Zootopia stuff is really really good and quite original in my opinion so give those a read if you can.

I put a reference to an American chicken restaurant in here as a bribe for Wolfard to use. I got the idea of including it from Zanrok's 100 Boops and I figure that larger Predators need more than just bugs and occasional fish so...for me chicken and turkey and such are on the menu but, expensive, which means that most Predators eat bugs and plant protein but fish and chicken are special occasion or treat items, at least in my versions of Zootopia.(I am aware that the directors of Zootopia have stated that Nick is a vegetarian, but in my version of this universe he does eat some other proteins just because being a cop and keeping up with Judy means he needs more nutrition to keep up his conditioning.) Even as a con fox he had muscles, those Jumbo Pops WERE elephant sized after all! Also I figure that just like some human guys, the way to a fox's heart is through their stomach so food bribes are a good bet if his new pals at the ZPD want to coax him into something.

The first names of Ralph Wolfard and Nadine Fangmeyer I originally got from MinscLovesBoo and his great story 'Loves Tales'. These names have also been used in other stories so in order to be consistent I am using these names in this story too.(MinscLovesBoo is also the First Admiral of the Wolfeyer fleet so… yeah I have been press ganged into that pirate fleet too. Never fear though! I am STILL a loyal and true (albeit very minor) member of the Wilde Hopps Navy so I shall midshipmen ON! (can't really soldier on in the Navy, it isn't done apparently)) So…without further adieu, On to the story!

BigPaw Hunters

Chapter One: The Set Up

Judy focused on her salad and ignored her table mates as they bickered good-naturedly back and forth like kits. The squad had gone to the 10-7 to blow off some steam, not for anything more...emotionally draining like when there was an injury on the job or a really bad case. That didn't mean relaxing was going to be easy for Zootopia's first Bunny cop though. Next weekend was their monthly on call shift which meant Judy had plans for their down time this weekend.

She hid a smile and mused, if she could pull it off Nick was sure to enjoy what she had planned, granted not everyone in her family had been behind her having a fox for a husband, but the few that were still holding out had been seriously ambushed by the birth of their precious and precocious kits. Ever since Ella and Ridley had come along, both of them made every effort to spend time together but it wasn't always easy to carve out any adult time. Nick's Mom, Elaine was over the moon with happiness whenever they asked her to look after the kits, but after that call last week leaving them with the foxy side of the family wasn't going to be an option this time.

The Bunny's ears drooped a bit as she recalled that intense conversation. Her Mom and Dad had been even more delighted over Ella and Ridley than they usually were when the family increased and the two older bunnies had made it quite clear that they were feeling left out in the spoiling of the grand kits department, never mind that they had hundreds of other grand kits already. So IF everything worked out this would solve that piece of drama for a while too, BONUS!

Judy set her fork down for a minute to text her brother Bradley and smiled, Wolfard hadn't been part of her original idea but he was setting things up nicely and this might even work out better. She'd have to make her pitch soon and Nick was never an easy mammal to surprise. She flexed her strong legs and made a real effort to ignore her reflexive reactions when her sensitive hearing picked up a change in Nick's heartbeat.

Flicking an ear towards her fox who was seated next to her, she leaned towards him just a little as he tensed slightly. Judy was feeling the strain of the past shift just as much as her larger, Predatory co-workers and touch always helped her relax. Judy knew she was actually fairly good at getting the paperwork side of things done, but Nick's eye for detail and ability to read mammals and situations, meant that their squad tended to discuss even routine cases more than most officers. That meant it usually took them a little longer to sign off on their reports and that hadn't been an option today.

Chief Bogo had really put his hoof down and the whole precinct had been scrambling to finish the quarterlies as well as the weekly reports on time for once. After several soul sucking hours of overtime paperwork; most of their shift had opted to go relax before heading home and quite a few of them had naturally gravitated here. The downside of this was that the bar was really getting crowded early in the day. However, the upside of this was that now that they were done, the whole squad had the next five days off.

Their forth squad-mate Scott Delgado, a pale timber wolf and his mate Sharna were in a cozy corner booth almost completely hidden by the bulk of Natasha Rhinowitz and Frank McHorn who were trying (and failing) to out drink Francine and Henry Trunkaby over by the old school jukebox. Clawhauser was seated at the bar and he noticed Judy's glance and smiled kindly before turning back to a particularly pretty lady Cheetah dressed as an EMT who from the slow flicking of her long tail and easy smile was enjoying their conversation very much.

Not wanting to get in the way of her first friend on the force who was having fun with a lady friend, Judy turned her attention back to their table and entertained herself by trying to read Nick and Ralph's unspoken signals. Her ears popped up and then back down as a frustrated whine came from Wolfard who was seated in a straight backed chair across from them. This was followed by a slight huff from Nick as Wolfard discretely sniffed his smaller companions.

Judy hid a frown and made sure to keep her breathing even. She knew her nose tended to twitch when she got emotional and she didn't want to make her table mates uncomfortable. Part of enjoying downtime with Wolfard, Delgado or any of the Canids ALWAYS included this kind of thing since they were squad-mates and work pack members. Wolfard was definitely a kindred spirit for Nick too since the two of them tended to get up to a lot of harmless pranks whenever they were assigned in house at the precinct.

For Judy, reading these unspoken body and behavior cues among her predator co-workers were like figuring out a foreign language especially since she tended to miss a lot of the scent cues and other subtleties, but she was never one to back down from a challenge. Interpreting felines like Ben and Nadine was even more different than her canine comrades, but in some ways they were easier and the bears were another whole challenge she had hardly touched. Having been around Nick so much, even before having been assigned to the squad with Wolfard and Delgado Judy had realized just how subtle the Predators were especially in mixed groups that included Prey species.

Being the only bunny on the street-side of the force, but no longer the only Bunny since several more had joined as technicians and CSI annalists meant that the rest of the ZPD was learning more than just the standard Prey Protocols about Leporidae now too, which was a really good thing as far as she was concerned. She raised her water glass at one of the weasels from the lab and hid a grin as she felt Nick's tail curl discretely around her along the seat of the booth.

Bunnies were tactile and spent a lot of time being physically affectionate even among the most casual of friends. With family or other loved ones, touch and mental interaction were vital for their mental and physical health. Moving so far from her blood kin had been taking quite a toll on her until Nick had graduated and brought her here. Trisha had introduced her to a few other select Leporidae but it was rare she spent time with any of them.

Judy smiled fondly at her fox, as she stole peeks at him and Wolfard, thanks to the wolves and Nick most of her colleagues understood when she hugged or touched them now and she understood when they sniffed or occasionally licked her and Nick(especially if it encouraged Nick to be closer). Turning back to her salad, she hid a small smirk in another bite of mozzarella and vinaigrette dressing as the discussion continued while they waited for the rest of their order.

"I'm telling you I KNOW what I saw Nick. Even if it's not really BigPaw I saw SOMETHNG when I was in the woods down in Deerbrook county last year and it wasn't a regular mammal!" Exclaimed their solidly built, gray furred, Timber wolf co-worker; ZPD Detective Ralph Wolfard.

Nick sighed as he drew a breath to explain AGAIN that Big Paw was a legend for a reason, no one had EVER proven that they or it existed ever. The show 'The Search for Big Paw' was a 'reality' TV show that was as hokey and fake as the latest cheesy installment of the attack of the killer carrots horror films. That being said, Wolfard watched it every week and he seemed to be even more into it this season than last if that was even possible.

The sounds of the bar were picking up as more off duty first responders made it in to unwind from their shifts. Nick was still sober and paying attention to more than the basket of chips and salsa they were sharing. He watched as Judy's ears twitched and his nose picked up the familiar scent of female bunny, just a different one from his special Bun. Their favorite server Trisha was bouncing energetically towards their booth and Wolfard's order of cheese fries, baked potato skins and onion rings wasn't slowing her a bit.

Knowing how the bunnies were with each other, Nick braced himself and slid over slightly in the booth styled seat he was sharing with Judy, "Heads up Carrots!"

Without missing a forkful of her Caprese Salad, the gray furred bunny officer next to him slid herself over a bit twisting as she moved her bowl slightly making room for the brown furred ball of enthusiasm stuffed into the form of a plumply fit, curvey, brown doe that landed just beside them on the booth seat narrowly avoiding the end of Nick's tail as it flicked up against Judy's hips. Trisha was in her usual ZPD blue 10-7 t shirt that barely contained her ample figure and shorts that allowed her to use her bunny agility to full advantage.

Expertly sliding the plate of appetizers in front of Wolfard with a single paw, Trisha used her other arm to hug Judy and chirruped, "Hi Cutie. How's that Partner of yours treating you? Need help keeping him in line?"

Trisha slid a knowing glance at the disappearing end of Nick's dark tipped tail and the vulpine in question smirked as he began dueling with Wolfard to get a share of the cheesy goodness on the table and pretended nonchalance as both Bunnies hugged and nuzzled each other.

Judy grinned and winked at her Foxy Partner and hugged the energetic doe for a second before saying as she held up the keys to their assigned cruiser, "He's the best Trisha, I bet he'd like a hard cider though since I'm driving us home tonight. Didn't you text me that the special shipment had finally come in?"

Trisha giggled a little and called over to the bar,"You win the bet Em. Send out the Fox special."

At this Both Nick and Wolfard paused in their dueling forks as they playfully 'fought' over the cheese fries and looked toward the dark toned bar along the wall. A smiling female otter wearing a ZFD red 10-7 t-shirt and black khakis laughed at the suddenly prick eared fox and at the fact that Wolfard had several fries sticking out of his muzzle before they disappeared with a discrete slurp.

The larger predator asked, "There's a Fox special?"

Trisha hopped off the booth seat and patted Wolfard's arm, "Awww, Don't fret….You know all my customers are special but thanks to my best bunny buddy here, Echo put in an order for a few specialty items we are trying out and this one in particular is right in Nick's wheelhouse."

Just then a tiger and a brown bear sporting firefighter insignia stepped past Petey, the rhino bouncer and seated themselves at a table nearby. Trisha leaped to the bar-top from the booth as Em came over with a wolf sized, long neck, dark glass bottle and a frozen mug just Nick's size. She set the cider down and winked at the officers before saying, "Thanks for the assist Officer Hopps. Trisha usually wins our bets but tonight I get to gloat."

Trisha grinned as she pulled a couple of large mammal sized draft beers for the Firefighters and grabbed her tray. I'll be right over with your refill Wolfard. I need to make Judy her Carrotini mocktail."

Wolfard snorted slightly as he saw the label on Nick's Fox Special. It was a plain label without even a name just a clearly printed image of a blueberry bush full of ripened fruit. "That's our fox alright. Hey! Nick let me see that for a second."

Nick quickly poured most of the pale amber liquid tinged slightly purple under the occasional flashes of the outdated ZPD cruiser light bars hanging in the ceiling into the frosted mug before handing the bottle to Ralph who enthused, "I know this brand of hard cider. It's one of the main sponsors of the BigPaw Hunters Association."

Nick sniffed at the brew and let the unmistakable fruity aroma of apples, blueberries and strawberries linger in his nose along with the distinctive tang of alcohol before rolling his eyes at his larger co worker and friend.

"Again with BigPaw Ralph?"

Wolfard sniffed the bottle and let his breath out in a snort before tasting the small amount left in the bottle. His ears pricked and he signaled Trisha for one of his own as his tail wagged slightly as the sample hit the back of his throat and the subtle aftertaste tingled.

"Look, Nick….I know most mammals don't think BigPaw is real, but I KNOW I can win if you guys help me. Judy's family LIVES in prime Big Paw territory and Delgado is busy with his mate this weekend."

His table mates looked less than convinced and then Ralph got an idea…. Taking out his wolf sized Carrot phone he opened Ewe Tube and set the phone to play the contest video. His ears perked and he cocked his head at the bunny who was now watching the video and eating her salad. If she agreed to go Nick would be a cinch, besides...he needed something to help keep his mind off Nadine. Nick and Judy were just the distraction he needed if only he could get them to come along.

"Just look at this okay?"

Both his friends watched as the team of mammals that were on the Big Paw Hunters program appeared, seated on folding camp stools in front of some tents beside an unlit fire pit.

The pig, dressed in Camouflage styled hunting gear waved at the camera and began what was clearly a well rehearsed speech. He gestured to his co-host the female ocelot beside him and pointing to several others who came and went in the shot as he spoke. "Hello, I'm Byron Welk and of course you all know Sandra, Bill and the rest of the team. This season on BigPaw Hunters we have made real progress in tracking our quarry but before we stop for the winter we need the help of you, our loyal viewers. We would like all of you to send in videos showing any traces of BigPaw activity to help determine where we search in the next few weeks. Winter is usually when it is theorized that BigPaw hibernates and we would LOVE to find a den site or any other clues. With this in mind our sponsors and producers have offered a contest. Just send in video footage as a MPEG, AVI, 4 or any other format accepted by Ewe Tube showing any evidence that might help us find where BigPaw has his winter den and you could win this grand prize package. A complete set of appropriately sized BigPaw Hunters hunting gear like I'm wearing, the complete series BigPaw Hunters on blue ray WITH the commemorative behind the scenes journal written and illustrated by renowned explorer and archeologist Simon Prowl, AND a special appearance on our show next season as well as 1000 Zoomoleons to help cover any expenses incurred while gathering your evidence."

The Ocelot, Sandra added, "You can have multiple entries since the winners will be determined by a combination of our producers picks and a series of random drawings. There are more than 10,000 prize packages available so send in those videos and testimonials."

The Beaver, Bill added, "All submissions become the property of BigPaw Hunters Productions and are usable by the company for any promotional or other uses as long as they are used for BigPaw Hunters intellectual properties limited and submissions are subject to all federal, county and local laws so be careful out there and stay safe."

Wolfard's tail wagged slightly as he turned off the phone and ignored the fact that Nick had scarfed down two of the baked potato skins while the video played and Judy was inhaling another onion ring to say, "I'm going to the mid burrows this weekend to get video to enter this contest and I need at least two more mammals with me."

Judy looked interested for a second and Wolfard's hopes rose but then he realized she was watching Nick as she offered, "Why would you need at least two other mammals to go with you to take video? Any smart phone can…."

Nick had been looking something up on his phone and he answered her saying, "It's part of the contest rules Carrots. Since they are soliciting videos for publication there are a bunch of small print items on here too. It doesn't say public servants or city employees are prohibited from entering though so Wolfard should be able to pull off an entry."

He glanced at the slight wag of Wolfard's tail and added or more as his smirk reached typical Nick levels of sass. "Or two, or five,"

Wolfard's ears pinned back as he signaled towards the bar for a refill of their appetizers since his smaller table mates had made significant inroads on the bar food and he wanted to make sure they all ate plenty while he and Nick drank a bit more.

Ralph finished his cold tea saying, "Oh come on Nick. It will be FUN."

"I'm a city fox Ralph. I don't do that well outside my natural environment."

Trisha grinned as she slid a wolf sized, hard cider in front of Wolfard and winked at her best bunny Judy to drawl, "According to the Bunny network you did fairly well last time you were out in the sticks Nick."

Trisha giggled as Judy offered a peek at her phone and a photo of Nick covered in heaps of little bunnies that just showed his dark furred paw outstretched waving for help as the baby bunnies all looked thrilled.

Nick sighed, he had already tried to delete that particular set of photos but thanks to Judy's plethora of relatives, most of whom now thought seeing him with the Hopps Kerfluffle was 'just the sweetest thing!'. There were literally dozens, if not hundreds of those sorts of photos circulating now, especially among the Hopps Bunny population and anybunny they knew well enough to share such family moments with.

Judy was about to jump in with her idea when Wolfard upped the stakes a bit more, "Come on you guys. I'll tell you what. If you come with me this weekend and help me get some entry videos I'll spring for lunch all next week. I'll even pay for Chick Fil A at least once."

Judy and Trisha grinned openly as Nick's ears perked. Trisha ruffled Nick's ears affectionately and laughed as she went to check on a few more tables, "Have fun in the Burrows this weekend you three."

Nick looked a bit surprised and objected, "We haven't decided to go."

Judy waved a paw full of cheese fries at him and he paused instinctively tracking the food and his mate. She interjected casually, "Actually Nick we could go and help out Ralph."

The larger canine's ears perked and he smiled, careful not to show his teeth much as she continued, "I'm sure our family wouldn't mind putting all three of us up for a few nights while we go on a BigPaw hunt and this way Mom and Dad can spend some time with Ella and Ridley too."

Nick winced a little recalling the expert level of Guilt Fu Bonnie had pulled out over the Muzzletime call a few days ago and sighed as his visions of a quiet few days at home with his kits morphed into the realization that the bunny Matriarch had gotten to Judy too.

Ralph's tail whipped back and forth eagerly as she smiled up at the wolf and offered, "I'll text a couple of my brothers so they can get one of the all-terrain trucks prepped and warn Pop Pop."

Nick's con senses went off at that, "Wait just a bushy tailed minute there Fluff. Why are we involving your Pop Pop in any of this?"

Her smile wasn't really reassuring and reminded the fox of the time she had hustled him with his former tax evasion back before they had become partners as she wrapped her arm as far around him as it would go and nuzzled into his side.

Her voice was warm and held back laughter as she continued, "Don't worry Nick. Pop Pop has gotten a lot better since we took the kits to see everyone after the Halloween party last year. He's stopped asking if I've been eaten yet when Mom and Dad muzzle-time and everything, he still calls me Trudy half the time though."

Both Wolfard and Nick twitched at that and Judy regretted her questionable 'joke'. "He's an old bunny guys, and our family is REALLY cautious even for Bunnies. Mom and Dad are a lot better about the city and all now too. Four more of my older sibs have moved to Zootopia proper working out contracts for the co-op, and you KNOW Mom and Dad send those blueberries every month just for you you greedy fox. It's because they want to, not because I ask them to, they really HAVE accepted you you know."

She smiled and tried to stop her nose twitching as she added, "AND I heard from Thistle and Briar that the south fields are just starting to hit peak season…So."

Nick wasn't entirely fooled, his bunny WAS up to something; however there were suddenly more than enough reasons to tag along with Wolfard this weekend as far as he was concerned.

His tail tip flicked as he scooted JUST that much closer to Judy and he widened his eyes 'innocently' "The South fields? You mean the ones planted with the fruit crops… like the Blueberries RIGHT?"

Wolfard relaxed and his alert ears twitched gently as Judy's smile went soft and her nose calmed, "Yup, in fact...I was going to ask if we could go out to the warren for at least a couple of days this week even before Wolfard told us about this contest. You know how much my parents want to spend time with Ella and Ridley, and your Mom gets to Kit sit pretty often so…."

She glanced at her phone which had just dinged with another text and busily tapped out a reply. Then quickly changed to another sibling and shot off one of the family codes before innocently continuing her offer waving the 1st text around like a free pass at a concert.

Nick's instincts were suddenly buzzing louder than his cider and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the now slightly bouncing rabbit beside him.

Her eyes shown with her enthusiasm as she expounded, "This will work out great! Nick, there is a Bunnyburrow wide contest this week between some of the oldest warrens. To keep fighting to a minimum Sheriff Prongs and Deputy Wolften are going to be officiating and Dad will be over the moon to have another couple of predators to taste his ice cream before the contest. He's determined to beat Cyril Stumptail this time."

Nick and Wolfard looked slightly confused at the idea that being a predator made them good taste testers for a contest between bunnies but all higher thoughts in either of their heads disappeared as the grey furred bunny pulled out her trump card. "Mom's making fruit cobbler to go with it."

Both predators swallowed visibly to control their drooling and Wolfard asked prayerfully, "What kind of cobbler?"

While Nick's grin turned positively possessive, "It won't matter All of them are better than anything we can get here in the city. And yes Carrots I DO feel like most of the warren accepts me now…."

Nick's ears twitched as Wolfard shifted in his seat and moved his tail while several E.M.T.'s moved to the table next to their half booth, Nick's nose quivered, and he shifted his paw to cover Judy's ears in a gentle caress as he cooed, "It HAS been a while since we showed off the kits in the Burrows though and with your Mom in charge I think even Ella and Ridley will have a hard time getting away with too much so…."

The timber wolf's tail thumped as he grinned, "You have an in with the Kerfluffle for sure."

Nick snorted and sighed, "I'm sure you'll have your share of the attention."

Judy shivered just a little at the feeling of Nick's paw pads sliding over her sensitive ears and closed her eyes involuntarily as her whole body threatened to go limp against him. Nick's smirk returned full force as Judy shook off his paw and elbowed him. Judy's glare was halfhearted at best as she pulled up the ZTA's schedule on her phone and punched in a request for three train tickets on tomorrow's express to the Burrows. Adding under age rider vouchers to two of the tickets Judy entered her badge number and Nick's before handing her phone to Ralph.

Nick's expression turned almost dopey as Judy stood on the seat to rub the base of his ears and brazenly ate the last baked potato skin on Nick's plate, "Can you be ready by six? The express will be cheaper and faster with our city employee discount."

Wolfard's grin threatened to become a full on laugh at the way the two of them acted together as he entered his badge number and gestured for another round for the table. "I have been packed for two days, I'll meet you guys at Savannah Station platform 2 at 5:45 AM okay?"

Nick's eyes popped open and he groaned, "What IS it with you two and getting up early? Hey Carrots! I wanted to eat that."

Distracted by Judy's rubbing his ears and eating his snacks, Nick was caught off guard as Trisha returned with Blueberry ciders and another Carrotini Mocktail. After setting the drinks down she leaned over and began to mess with the officers duty belt, giggling she unclasped several of the secure straps. The fox began to swat the brown does paws away only to have her move to the other side of the predator, quickly wrapping her arms around his waist while squeezing the distracted fox almost as hard as Judy would have.

Grinning up at him she giggled, "I'll bring more cheese fries, Nick. I can't have my third favorite fox at the ZPD leaving hungry, unless it's for something other than bar food."

She gave him another rib cracking squeeze and laughed as Judy eyed her and then wiggled her fingers threateningly. Trisha squeaked as Judy's quick paws tickled her lightly just under the hem of her shirt. Nick meanwhile had a quizzical look as he tried to do the math. To the best of his knowledge he was still the only fox at the ZPD unless there was someone in maintenance or one of the labs he hadn't met yet.

Judy was smiling and her voice was fond as she added,"My Fox Trisha. You better bring him some of that bean dip and more potato skins. I have PLANS for us after we are done here."

She smiled sweetly at both the brown bunny and the fox as she added, "That's why I'm driving the cruiser tonight."

Wolfard grinned as he swigged his cider, those three were too much. "Welp, I'm willing to call next round last round so we can get a good nights sleep."

Trisha laughed and bounded back toward the kitchen, "I'm sure they will, eventually. Am I right EM?"

The otter bartender laughed and dodged the bunny who took her usual shortcut to the pick up window, "You know it as well as I do. OOOO looks like I'll be taking the next round for you Trish."

The bunny looked up at that and Squeaked happily as she spied her favorite painted dog duo Atom and Delta just making their way past Petey and stepping up to the bar.

Launching herself at the pair of dog's she ignored the ready bell at the food window adding, "Thanks Em. You're the BEST!"

Delta's tail wagged slightly as he caught the brown doe but before either of them could do or say anything else they were caught up in one of Atom's famous hugs and had to concentrate on breathing.

(Onward to chapter 2)


	2. Chapter 2

Big Paw Hunters

Chapter 2 The Hook

–-

Nick, Judy and Ralph had met up without any hassle the next morning. The tandem stroller that held the sleepy kits was also doing double duty as the luggage carrier for the diaper bag but Nick was loaded up with two duffel bags and a backpack which made the wolf's eyes widen as he realized just how into fatherhood Nick was as he knelt to tuck the light blanket back around his daughter and son. Judy's ears perked as the train pulled in and she pushed the kit's stroller onto the train and strapped their car seats down using the built in straps while Nick folded the rest of the stroller up and put it under their row of seats.

The train was on time and they had no trouble stowing their bags in the luggage racks built along the rows. Ralph sniffed discretely and grinned at his co workers as they seated themselves side by side across from him. Judy's phone dinged a few times but she ignored the alerts to snuggle into Nick's shirt.

The fox looked only partially awake, which to be fair was how he usually looked before he had at least one cup of coffee. It was the satisfied and happy set of his ears and tail that made the wolf's grin widen as he prepared to make the fox squirm a little though. Judy lifted her head from it's place in the side of Nick's signature green Pawaiian shirt to glare at the wolf.

"Don't. Just Don't."

Wolfard handed Nick a tiger sized Snarlbucks cup and then handed Judy one with a bunny head drawn on it that was only slightly bigger than was comfortable for her to hold in one paw. Sniffing hers, Judy put both paws on the cup and sipped with a pleased hum while Nick savored his drink.

Deciding to put off the teasing for now, Wolfard asked, "Okay Judy, okay. You guys are really going to help me get at least one entry for the contest right?"

Nick perked up a little and added, "And there really will be all the fruit I can eat."

Judy laughed as she set her cup in the holder, answered some of her messages and showed one to Nick, "Yes you fruit fiend. SEE!"

Nick's tail flipped saucily as he sipped from his go cup. He felt worlds better as he tasted the special blend he and most of the Canids favored. The famous chain specialized in blends formulated for every branch of mammals and as far as he knew they never discriminated against any mammal, Predator or Prey. Snarlbuck's was the biggest drink chain in all Zootopia for several reasons and that was one of them. Glancing at his kits who were securely fastened into the seats across from him he saw that they had both fallen asleep again.

He slipped his sunglasses on and snuggled against the window as a happy hum came from his throat. "That looks like one of Gideon's pies carrots."

"Nope it's Sasha's blackberry pot pie from last night."

She swiped a soft pad-less finger over the screen and showed him a counter full of berry pints chock full of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. These are waiting for you at home Slick."

She glanced up at Ralph and sent him a couple of photo's so he could look on his bigger screen. "Don't worry Ralph, everything will be ready right after lunch."

He looked at his phone and ginned as he sipped his own tiger sized cup and swiped through a series of pictures showing about a dozen rabbits clambering all over two ATV's.

In spite of his love of the Big Paw show, Wolfard WAS a police detective and he WAS just a little suspicious as he looked a little closer and saw just how well used those vehicles and such were.

Then he paused as another fact hit him, the one he was looking at was WAY to large for a bunny to handle safely, it looked...wolf sized! Shrugging off his surprise, Ralph decided to let things lie for now. It would be a couple of hours before they hit Bunnyburrow and a nap would be great. Setting his cup in holder in the side of the armrest, Wolfard set his alarm and pulled his ZPD hat over his eyes.

Wolfard looked around him and marveled at the sight of dozen's of rabbits going about their tasks almost like he wasn't even there. Of course it probably helped that Judy and Nick were married now and that she had brought the charming fox back home with her several times before they had married as well. On the train ride here Judy had explained several times about how her family was business partners with some baker fox called Gideon. But it was still quite a surprise to see how well the supposedly conservative and cautious warren of bunnies seemed to be handling his being here.

There were lots of sidelong glances and he could smell that most of them were wary of him at the very least but overall they had been very calm about having a timber wolf in their burrow.

He mentally winced and corrected himself Warren, the Hopps' had been very hospitable and it was only fair he try and be a good guest and part of that to his mind meant respecting their culture as much as he could.

Judy had explained several times that her family was much more open minded now than they had been. As they had disembarked from the train and into the organized chaos that was rabbit life. Wolfard suspected that not all of Judy's family was embracing the changes Judy was bringing home and he was determined to make a good impression on them if he could. He and Fangmeyer had been well received back when they had visited as on duty police officers, but this time he was here as Ralph Wolfard not Detective Wolfard.

Ralph's ears swiveled as the sounds of little kits trying very hard to be quiet as they giggled and shuffled behind him got closer.

He felt a now familiar tug and flipped his tail quickly around to his side as a burst of giggles and the pattering of nearly silent bunny paws sounded behind him.

The matron of the warren, Bonnie Hopps paused as she instructed some of the older bunnies and leveled a glare behind him that would have made Bogo proud. The part of the kerfluffle that had been shadowing him since he left his guest room retreated again in the face of her disapproval. Instinctively the large predator laid his ears back before flicking them up and gulped as he carefully sat his spoon beside his empty bowl.

Almost before he could blink his porridge bowl had been removed and a bunny sized serving bowl filled with the delectable scent of warm, tart, raspberry filling bobbing in buttery, flaky crust and sweet granola like crumble met his nose. Suddenly glad that regular bunny sized plates and bowls had been used to serve the breakfast porridge and toast Wolfard watched in bemusement as Bonnie nodded and smiled at his reaction to the cobbler.

Setting what was probably some kind of planter or small flower pot in front of him filled with fresh, hot coffee she sat a pitcher of real cream in front of him.

The matriarch offered sounding a little embarrassed, "I AM sorry about the younger ones."

Wolfard dipped his snout towards her carefully and let a small smile tilt the corners of his lips as he replied warmly, "It's not a problem Mrs. Hopps, I…."

A loud shriek sounded followed by outright laughter as a pretty gray and white doe bounded into the kitchen. For just a second he thought he was seeing his co worker Judy but her eyes were a lighter shade of amethyst than the bunny cop's and this bunny's fur was slightly duller and darker than Judy's. The wolf drew in a deeper breath and noticed the subtle differences between their scents and realized that this was probably one of her litter-mates.

Then Judy herself bounded into the room and Wolfard remembered which of her siblings this was as the first rabbit dodged Judy and gazed at the predator with a flirty smirk. He only had a few seconds to react and almost upset his bowl of cobbler as she tried to use the much larger Canid as a kind of hiding place/safe zone giggling all the while.

Wolfard sighed, it seemed that Judy's example had inspired boldness in more than just the little kits. Using his well honed reflexes, he caught both the full grown doe and his dessert. Casually he scooped a mouthful of warm cobbler into his muzzle and lifted a now breathlessly squeaking Jessica Hopps calmly over the bench styled seat next to him. Ralph paused to savor the delectable treat that hit his senses and almost absently dodged Jessica's kicking legs as he stood up so she wouldn't hit the table as she struggled.

He shook off the spell of the cobbler and breathed deeply to make sure that Jessica wasn't panicking and nearly froze as the sweet scent of aroused female tickled his nose. Jessica's ears flushed as she felt the wolf tense up before he set her down on the bench and shifted slightly towards Judy. He grabbed his coffee and settled in to watch as the rest of the kitchen began to clear out.

Judy took this opportunity to stomp over to her sister and demanded, "Jessica! If you value your fur you'll stop trying to mess with Nick. He's MY partner and…We are MARRIED."

The rather disheveled form of a familiar but cautious fox stepped into the huge kitchen and slid his arms around the furious bun whose right foot paw was trying to pound a divot into the smooth hardwood surface of the floor. Nick breathed deeply as his snout found itself sliding between Judy's ears. Mixed with his bunny's own special scent and her anger was the alluring aroma of warm berries and sugar and his ears swiveled alertly as Bonnie smiled and set a fox sized mug decorated with blueberry designs next to a bowl of oatmeal.

Fixing all of them in her gaze, Bonnie began, "Sit down Nick, you and Judy need to eat something nutritious before you charm your way to a belly ache from sampling my cobbler and Stu's ice cream. Jessica I warned you last time Nick was here about behaving properly around them."

Looking a bit abashed Jessica settled down in her seat beside Wolfard and appeared to listen.

Bonnie continued, "Sit down Judy. The sooner you finish breakfast the sooner you can make sure everything is ready for your little expedition. And don't think you can get out of helping with the kerfluffle Jessica. Officer Wolfard is here with Nick and Judy and I expect you to…."

Jessica took this chance to cling to Wolfard's arm and ask with an almost wistful tone in her voice, "I can't believe that Judy is going BigPaw hunting. She never used to do much of anything that didn't involve learning about police work and such growing up. I on the other paw know a lot of good places to look for things around here. How did you convince her to loosen up anyway? She usually doesn't come home unless there's a festival or holiday much less to BigPaw hunt."

Nick's nose quivered and he glanced worriedly at his partner and then at Wolfard's swiftly emptying bowl before coaxing Judy to sit beside him.

"Come on Carrots. The quicker we eat breakfast the sooner we can get to the good stuff."

Gesturing with his spoon Wolfard pushed Jessica gently away from him and shook his fur to settle it, "So, what exactly is this competition this afternoon all about anyway?"

Judy glared at her litter mate before absently eating some of the warm cereal her mother had placed in front of her. An annoyed humming sound was her only reply before she suddenly lunged towards her sister and pointed at her chest as she emphasized her words.

"Listen here Jessica Lynn Hopps. The LAST thing we need is your help. I know just as much about BigPaw as you do. Harley, Brand and Cole are getting things ready and if it wasn't for Dad and Pop Pop we'd already be scouting around."

At this Nick actually paused in his quest to finish his breakfast in record time and warily he asked, "Wait a second Fluff. What…."

Just then Stuart Hopps came into the kitchen holding a frosted five gallon container in his paws. "Bonnie, I think this batch is ready."

He glanced at the table and both predators recognized his eager look as he sized them up. Bracing himself and making sure to look eager and slightly submissive, Wolfard offered a paw to the heavy set Bunny buck.

"Here Mr. Hopps, let me help you with that."

Taking the container he was surprised at it's weight and even more surprised as it was quickly grabbed by an eager pair of rusty brown, foxy hand paws. "Here Ralph, I'll take that for you. Carrots, can you…."

"Here you silly, fox you."

A familiar gray paw handed Nick a large serving spoon and a smaller spoon joined his as they dug into the smooth, creamy ice cream. Bonnie laughed and set two more servings of cobbler on the table, "Here you two. Finish these and Bun Bun be sure your friends tell your father if he should tweak his recipe."

Stu rocked slightly on his foot paws and grinned proudly as he watched the two predators clearly slowing down to really taste his newest batch, this one was vanilla with a subtle ribbon of hazelnut spread and dotted throughout with fresh whole raspberries to compliment Bonnie's cobbler.

Answering Wolfard, Stu settled in his chair at the table with a cup of coffee and his own bowl of fruit, "You see here in Bunnyburrow we take a lot of pride in our produce."

Judy and Nick both exchanged grins at this understatement and Nick scooted a little further over on the bench as Stu paused to look at the 'innocent ' duo. Nick quickly settled into enjoying his sample of the cobbler and then some of the ice cream as Judy gave her dad a quiet look and scooted right next to her fox. The baby monitor clipped to her shirt chose that moment to let off a series of whimpers but before either parent could so much as twitch Bonnie's eyes lit up with the zeal of a holy warrior on a mission.

"You two just stay right there and enjoy yourselves. I've been wanting a little time with those two ever since you got here on the train. Jessica, I'm holding YOU responsible for keeping an eye and BOTH ears on the kerfluffle while your father gets the truck loaded."

Hurrying out the doorway she added, "I've got the cobbler ready in the warmer Stu, just put it in the cooler and I'll bring Ella and Ridley I can't WAIT to show them off at the contest."

Stu grinned a little and continued, gesturing with his fork between bites. "We Hopps' tend to get along with most all our neighbors but…between the Stumptails, Coneys, Leaps and Hopps we all tend to feel the sting of healthy competition more than some of the other folks 'round these parts. This being the case, it's become something of a 'friendly' contest to taste test our crops before sending them along to the city."

Jessica snorted and added calmly, "Oh Dad, the last time you and Cyril Stumptail had a 'friendly' contest Sheriff Prongs had to threaten both of you with a citation! That's why he and Deputy Wolften are officiating this time!"

Wolfard offered,"Mr. Hopps, I wouldn't change a thing this is some of the smoothest, creamiest ice cream I've ever eaten."

Stu smiled benignly and nodded as the wolf continued, "I just wanted to thank you for letting us come and…."

His ears flicked and spayed back as he felt a slight tremor under his hind paws.

He turned towards Judy and Nick who were bracing themselves against the table. Just then the Hopps kerfluffle charged the room in a flurry of fluffiness. At least six different little bunnies began to chatter as the fox was swarmed with dozens of kits that were all under the age of five or so.

"Uncle Nick. Can we come with you and Judy? Ooooo I want to play sheriff next! Read us a story Uncle Nick!"

The smaller predator grinned at his Bun before dramatically swooning into the sea of little bunnies. Judy laughed and began to try and excavate her fox but was quickly pulled into the swarm as a pair of larger foxy paws tickled her and his nose blew puffs of air into the ears of the little bunnies to tickle them.

Wolfard's ears twitched as a second swarm of slightly older kits rushed the room and began to move towards him. Bracing himself, Wolfard went limp and flopped to the floor dramatically curling his limbs in and swishing his tail back and forth. Every kit not directly engaged with Nick and Judy focused on the large, furry predator but their reaction wasn't at all what Wolfard thought it would be.

Every little bun made what he could only think of as cute noises before they all went almost eerily silent. Peeking through his half closed lids the wolf was woefully unprepared for the sheer fluffiness that swamped him in waves. The older kits all worked together to lift him and smaller bunnies began frantically tucking soft toys under him and crawled all over the large Canid.

Chattering frantically, while the wolf hid his laughter as they continued to fuss over him, "Oh NO! I think he's broken. Do you think Mama can fix him? Judy fixed Uncle Nick. We are going to miss out on dessert for SURE if he's broken!"

Stu laughed outright and signaled to some of his older children who began organizing the rest of the bunnies and carrying things towards various vehicles.

"Alright everyone, lets get this show on the road. Nick, Judy and Mr. Wolfard will be here later on and we have a contest to win! You three be careful out in the woods. Judy, the Eastern fields have had a lot of run off and the clover we planted is keeping the top soil steady enough, but the undergrowth was burned back so if you check that way be careful in case there is bad footing."

Judy nodded and offered, "we'll be careful Dad." She kissed him and he teared up before grabbing Nick in a crushing hug.

"Darn these old water works. We've sure missed you Nick. I'm glad you and the young ones came out to see us."

Patting Stu carefully Nick offered, "I'm glad we came and I know Carrots, I mean Judy and I are very grateful that you and Bonnie are so good to me and the kits."

Pulling back a little Stu shook his finger at the fox in an almost comical manner but his voice was serious as he said, "Now then Nicholas, you are part of our warren and the sooner you get that in your head and heart the better."

Just then a very, very old rabbit wearing brown pants held up by suspenders and an off white shirt shuffled into the room. He peered around through his thick glasses and raised his cane like a general directing his troops to ask loudly, "Is that Trudy's fox or the pie one?"

Nick grinned as Stu sighed. Wolfard got to his feet in a smooth motion as the last of the kerfluffle scattered to find their way to one of the outdoor play-sets or to pester some of the older bunnies. The older bunny paused as he settled into a seat at the sight of the much larger predator rising to his feet on the backside of the table.

Wolfard wasn't sure exactly what to say but Nick stepped in and smoothly offered, "I'm Judy's fox Mr. Hopps, My name is Nick. Remember?"

The old bunny made a show of adjusting his glasses as Nick went a little closer, gesturing with his cane Bonnie Hopps' father stated, "I see you brought reinforcements this time. I knew you were a smart one. But...Look here boy, you make Judy happy and as far as I can tell you're the only one who ever got her to think of anything but that police business. She has two sweet young'uns now thanks to you. So you jest keep up the good work and be a good Dad and husband and we'll have no problems."

As Nick staggered back a little in shock and Stu picked his jaw up off the floor the ancient bunny snorted and demanded, "WHAT? I'm old, not stupid."

Judy laughed and hugged her grandpa, "I got my brains from your side of the family Pop pop."

Grinning and settling in to enjoy his breakfast, Otto 'Pop pop' Hopps smiled at his most adventure oriented grandkit he offered gently, "Of course you did Trudy. Basil and Timothy are in the main vehicle shed waiting for you. You go have a bit of fun now and don't worry for your little ones. Stuart, I'm going to go into town with you. I don't trust that Cyril Stumptail after the last stunt he tried."

Stu nodded, still a bit surprised at his father -in-law's speech to Nick and offered, "I'll have Bailey and Jessica bring you to the town hall when you're ready Pop pop."

Before nodding to the Z.P.D.'s finest and adding, "The contest should be over by about three or so and we'll be back in time for supper, you just make yourselves at home and if you need anything before we get back the kitchen is always open so help yourselves. Keep in mind though that my Bon bon made something special for dinner so don't make yourselves sick with too much desert alright?"

He laughed at the dazed look on Nick and Wolfard's faces as Judy boxed them both and demanded, "I thought we were here to hunt for Big Paw not bigger uniforms for you two greedy guts! Let's go," before dragging both larger predators out the door in her wake.

Bonnie Hopps cooed at the two bundles of adorableness who were watching her with wide eyes. The Much foxy-er looking boy was sucking on the tip of his tail and Bonnie frowned as she remembered reading that fox kits often hugged their tails when anxious or stressed. Reaching for him and cuddling him close Bonnie offered gently, "Hey there little guy, no need to be upset, I'm your Grandma Bonnie, don't you worry now…. Ridley stared at her for a minute before breaking into a grin that was already devastatingly charming and grabbing for her paws. Little Ella squealed and shrieked since Ridley was getting all the attention and was swept up into Bonnie's other arm and carried over to their car seats. Strapping them in with some teething biscuits to occupy them Bonnie carried them out to the cavalcade of vehicles headed to the town hall. She paused at the sight of her Dad getting into one of the trucks and hurried over to see if he was alright. Otto smiled at his favorite doe and to her delight he reached for Ella and clucked her under her chin. "There now you sweet thing you. Your Mum and Dad are off to have a bit of fun with that city wolf so you stick with the warren now and you'll be fine."

Smiling at Bonnie he added, "I recon I threw that fox off his game a bit this morning, so score one for us bunnies. Hehe I think he'll do though seeing as how he's gotten our Trudy to lighten up some. When we get there I'll sit with those two young'uns while you get your cobbler warmed up."

Ridley watched wide eyed as Otto angled an ear towards him and chuckled as Ridley grabbed for it. Otto swung his cane at Bailey don't jest sit there youngster! Time's a waste-in' and I don't have any to waste."

Bonnie shook her head and got in the big truck with Stu so she could secure the kits, as Bailey answered , "Yessir Pop pop."

Wolfard meanwhile was listening raptly as Basil and Timothy finished showing him the controls for the ATV he would be using and then showed him several pictures of disturbances along a trail that they said were likely from other groups of Big Paw Hunters.

Judy snorted, "WOW, laying it on a little thick aren't you? He's a city wolf, but he's also a friend of ours."

Nick was already mounted on his ATV and flipping his sunglasses down over his eyes he offered, "Which way then Carrots?"

Let's head out to the Eastern fields and check some of the ravine, that way we can circle around and head towards the blueberry fields before it gets too late if we don't find a lead."

Wolfard's tail wagged as they headed off across one of the dirt packed trails between the fields and neither he nor Nick seemed to notice that Bailey and Timothy were not headed towards town with the rest of the Hopps as both Bunnies went to the main barn and shut the door.

Looking and sniffing carefully Wolfard's ears pinned back a little as he admitted, "I can't find anything unusual anywhere around here. Other than us three I don't even smell any fresh signs of mammals on this trail."

Nick offered, "Well isn't that actually a good thing Ralph? If We could smell or see other mammals signs on the trail it might mean we were just wandering where Judy's family usually is, or even where some other Big Paw Hunter group had gone. But here in undisturbed wilderness…."

Judy laughed at their antics. "Come on you city animals. We are still within a stone's throw of our working fields. Don't even bother yourselves until we get past the ravine in about twenty minutes ride. Now come on!"

Both Canines flushed under their fur before mounting their ATV's and following Judy further down the trail. A few minutes later, two familiar bunnies followed them racing down the trail and then into the brush to reveal a much smaller but clearly used foot trail that lead slightly away from the ravine but paralleled the larger trail taken by the vehicles.


	3. Chapter 3

Big Paw Hunters /

Chapter 3:

A Hunting We Will Go, and to the Victor go the Spoils

Sheriff Prongs, a well built, white tailed deer buck was getting up there in years. Despite this, he prided himself on still being in fairly good shape physically and mentally but by the great prince sometimes he swore that these bunnies would be the death of him! Seated beside him was Judge Bramble a rather petite, black-faced, white coated ram whose manner in the courtroom was as stern as his wool was curly and His Honor Mayor Jack Cotton who was a large brown hare.

His younger Deputy, a slightly built, grey wolf named Wolften was still sitting at a table set up in the town hall with a silly grin on his muzzle and a red and white checkered napkin tied around his neck. He had been eagerly waiting for this contest for hours and was barely able to focus as the final four entries were finished and put back on the table. Sheriff Prongs snorted as he finished putting up the scores and sat at the table. Giving his deputy a warning look, he waited for the explosion he KNEW was going to happen once the bunnies tallied the scores.

The Stumptails, Leaps, Coneys and Hopps were all packed into the hall as were a great many other townsfolk and next to Otto Hopps was a large chalkboard with various scores on them. It read something like this….

Stumptails Salad 4 Root Vegetables 3 Leafy Vegetables 3 Bread and savories 4 Fruit 3 Dessert 3 Bonus 2

Coney Salad 3 Root Vegetables 2 Leafy Vegetables 4 Bread and Savories 1 Fruit 3 Dessert 2 Bonus 3

Leaps Salad 4 Root Vegetables 3 Leafy Vegetables 3 Bread and savories 2 Fruit 4 Dessert 3 Bonus 2

Hopps Salad 5 Root Vegetables 4 Leafy Vegetables 2 Bread and Savories 3 Fruit 5 Desert 4 Bonus 3

On the table were the remains of the desserts, a custard bread pudding, a frosted cake, a fruit filled tart and his personal favorite, a warm raspberry cobbler with some sort of sweet ribbon laced raspberry ice cream.

Shaking off his sugar high and focusing Wolften got up as Cyril Stumptail snorted angrily and waved a paw at the board. "What's the meaning of this then? That can't be right?"

Looking pleased Stu Hopps bounced on his hind paws a little and slid his hand paw under one of his overall straps as he helped Bonnie Hopps up from her seat.

The sturdy bunny couldn't completely keep his pride out of his voice as he offered, "We agreed to let the Sheriff, Mayor Cotton, Judge Bramble and Deputy Wolften decide this time Cyril."

Stomping closer Cyril Stumptail again added up the figures before realizing that Otto Hopps was sitting right there and beside him were two kit carriers. This in itself wasn't anything new, almost every family here abouts had kits, cubs, pups, calves or lambs of all ages around but something about these two seemed a bit off. One was a gray bunny kit and the other a russet fox but…they seemed a little more different than just being predator and prey kits beside each other.

Cyril was anything but stupid, after all farming wasn't for sissies. A wrong decision could ruin a farm generations old and like most leporidae he noticed little ones of any species. Despite his nagging feeling, especially since he didn't remember hearing about any vixens being in the family way recently it was the disappointment over losing to Stuart Hopps AGAIN that was first on his mind.

Ignoring this in favor of saving face in front of the townsfolk Cyril turned to Stu Hopps and admitted, "I remember that Stu. And I'm bunny enough to stand by my word there."

At this both Sheriff Prongs and Deputy Wolften relaxed slightly. Just then Otto happened to look away from his son-in-law and into the child carriers and gasped waving his cane dramatically, "Bonnie! The littles are GONE."

"What?! Stu help me look for them."

"They can't be GONE! Judy and Nick will never believe this!"

"Calm down everyone, now just stay in place and we'll…."

Deputy Wolften kept his wits about him as everybunny and their neighbor began to mill around and even to go outside hoping to catch sight of the missing toddlers whom most assumed to be Hopps bunnies. Rushing to the carriers he sniffed to find their scents and then turned to try and track them through the crowd. The scents were those of very young mammals and as expected there was a strong flavor of Bunny but also fox…. Wolften groaned and rushed to Sheriff Prongs, who was trying to calm old Pop pop Hopps as he teetered off his seat and tried to go around the table.

Bonnie stopped Wolften and said calmly, "The kits are our grand kits from Zootopia, they are Nick and Judy's kits and are Half Bunny and Half Fox. Their names are Ella, a grey furred Bun and Ridley a russet furred Fox and they are …."

Just then there was a thump and squealing and cooing. The adults turned to see both kits sitting with the tablecloth around them where they had pulled it off the table. Ella was covered with the remains of the fruit tart busily stuffing herself with that and bits of cake. And Ridley was dripping with what was left of Bonnie's cobbler and trying to scoop up melting ice cream with his paws. To everyone's surprise, it was Cyril Stumptail who laughed, picked Ridley up off the floor and offered the foxy boy some of the bread pudding from the tablecloth to occupy him as he took out his own handkerchief to try and wipe away the mess from the wiggling fox kit's sensitive eyes and ears.

"Stu it looks like these two have their own score cards and it looks like they won."

Bonnie Hopps took her grandkits in paw and soon had them straightened out with the help of one of the large mammal sized sinks in the restroom and the experienced paws of Mrs. Leaps. Feeling the let down from all the excitement, Bonnie decided to get everyone back home and get things settled for supper. After inviting the Sheriff and Deputy to come out for dinner on Sunday and shaking Mayor Cotton's paw with an apology for causing a scene she began getting everyone organized and loaded up to get back to the farm.

Gratefully the rest of the kerfluffle swarmed Ella and Ridley once they were clean and after Stu and Otto were finished shaking Cyril's paw and Judge Bramble's hoof, the Hopps caravan loaded up to head home before dark.

Deep in the wooded ravine the ZPD's finest were having a bit of trouble themselves. The ATV's were sturdy and well maintained but this was a heavily wooded area and going over a small hill and down the far side gravity had decided to have it's way and now Wolfard's medium to large scaled ATV was sporting what looked to be a punctured tire from landing hard on a sharp branch.

Wolfard looked at his companions from his place beside the ATV's tire and whined, "I'm sorry guys, I didn't even see that coming."

Judy smiled reassuringly and offered, "Accident's happen Ralph. Why don't we check around here for anything unusual while Nick patches the tire and gets it pumped up,"

Nick looked startled for a second and asked, "wait a minute, why am I elected Mr. Fix it?"

Judy turned with a sweet expression to say, "Because you have the patch kit, the pump, the compressed air AND because Wolfard knows more about Big Paw than you while I know this area. If I let you two loose without me I'm afraid you will get lost or fall over one of the ridge lines or get stuck in poison oak or stung by bees…."

Wincing at this litany of potential disasters Nick held up a paw to offer. "You made your point Carrots. Just don't leave me here by myself too long. You and Nature boy there have a look and a sniff and I'll get this done. But I want extra dessert AND my own personal carrot picking expedition when we get back to the farm tonight."

Matching Nick's smirk with one of her own, Judy agreed saying in an exaggerated Podunk accent, "You've got yourself a deal there city fox. You just leave the trail blazing to me and my trusty sidekick here and we'll be back in two shakes of a bunny's tail."

Wolfard almost said something about the sidekick crack and the carrot picking expedition before his common sense kicked in. Ignoring Nick's cackling as the lithe fox hopped up onto the wide tire to examine the puncture, the Wolf shook out his fur and trotted after the bunny who was already moving past the ATV's toward a line of underbrush headed Southeast.

Nick had applied the patch from his repair kit and was holding the tough material down so the adhesive would seal properly when his ears perked and instinctively he went on full alert. He heard faint rustling but a quick look around showed him that there wasn't much wind. His nose quivered but whatever had set off his instincts didn't do so again. After a few minutes he got out the compressed air and his pressure gauge and began to fill the tire.

Wolfard followed Judy's scent and bounded after her excitedly wagging his tail. He took out his cell phone and made sure it was fully charged just in case. Judy smiled to herself as her instincts kicked in, Wolfard was a friend and a sweet goof but he was also an apex predator. Keeping a trained ZPD officer like Ralph off balance wasn't going to be easy.

Judy hid a worried look and considered the best way to lead Wolfard to the first place they were supposed to check for clues. Timothy and Basil were the ones working with Pop pop this season and he had assigned them to help with this and she trusted them but….She glanced behind herself and snuck another peek at the giddily happy Wolf following her. Somehow this didn't feel like the right thing to do, he really LIKED that silly show and she didn't want to disappoint him….

Her ears swiveled around as she heard a distinctive clacking sound coming from just above the height of her upright ears. Wolfard's training kicked in and he jumped over to Judy while extending himself sniffing hard to try and find the source of the noise since his eyes were fairly useless in these woods. Judy gulped as she was suddenly covered with a large canine who to her utter surprise let loose with a sharp howl that echoed in the trees. She realized that he was calling for the rest of his pack, meaning Nick but before they could do anything else Wolfard's phone promptly went off with a DING and then Judy's phone began playing the distinctive tune Nick had recently programmed for himself.

Answering her phone she heard her fox as he panted, "Carrots, Thank the creator! Where are you? I can't track very well out here, You KNOW I'm a city fox born and bred."

"Easy there Slick, Wolfard and I heard something and his training kicked in. Can you use your compass app to head Southeast? We will head along our back trail until we meet you."

Not more than ten minutes later they were all moving back towards the ravine where Judy wanted to let Wolfard check things out, when Nick froze and Wolfard almost flattened him into the dirt. Flailing his arms and swooshing his tail Wolfard managed to avoid squashing his smaller pal but Judy wasn't so lucky and was pinned between her fox and the wolf. Ralph leaped backwards and Judy hit the dirt before bouncing back to her feet and peering around Nick who was gaping at something on the dirt trail.

"Carrots! That's not even possible. Is it?"

Across the trail were several large, wide paw prints that weren't quite like anything he had ever seen. Judy made sure to take pictures with her phone and record video and after poking Nick he too took out his phone and began to try and document the weird prints. Then he stopped and demanded, "Wait just a brush tailed minute here. Why are WE doing this?!"

Nick and Judy turned to see their pal Wolfard sprawled back along the path blinking up at the tree branches over the trail.

"Ralph?"

Judy giggled as Nick sighed and continued, "Come on Buddy, this is your rodeo, I'm just the clown here."

Wolfard managed to sit up holding his phone but he couldn't say much. He managed a goofy expression as he stared at the prints before blurting out.

"Guys, This is SOOO COOL!"

Nick and Judy grinned at their co worker who was fumbling with his phone and muttering to himself.

"Easy Ralph, we have three days and Nick and I will help you all we can."

"But you need to breathe okay, Ralph, BUDDY."

Wolfard snapped out of his funk and began to follow the tracks right off the path. Nick grinned and nodded to Judy and the two of them followed after him. As they continued, the three kept alert and sure enough, as they moved along Wolfard suddenly paused and gestured to his left. Judy looked and had to hide a grin as she saw a series of broken branches leading down toward the creek bed. Ralph began to document on his phone talking into the microphone as if he was a TV documentary announcer. "The brakes appear fresh and are at about Tiger shoulder height and are heading in a fairly straight line Northwest towards what smells like fresh water."

Judy bounced along with Nick dodging various smaller branches and leaves and adding in an occasional comment, "Sutters Creek is right ahead about a mile and a half or so. I didn't realize you would be able to smell water that far away Ralph."

Both Nick and Ralph glanced at their bunny companion and exchanged a quick look that Judy caught before Wolfard focused back on the trail of broken branches.

Judy winced and asked, "I put my paw I my mouth and said something dumb again didn't I?"

Nick pulled her in for a quick hug and answered quietly, "Not exactly, but…you KNOW Wolfard is one of the top noses in all of Precinct One and…well,."

Judy sighed and admitted, "Sure, Ralph is a trained sniffer but that doesn't mean anything as far as distance. Does it?"

Shrugging Nick admitted, "Not exactly, but….Just so you know, I qualified AND passed Sniffer training too. And all members of the Canid family have really good noses. Especially for a natural need like oh water or say telling what a mammal's scent is giving off."

Judy froze and narrowed her eyes warningly at her fox who held up a paw and offered, "NOT that it's a big deal in the city much. The scents there are extremely muddled usually but out here in the boonies. Well even I can tell we are heading towards water now."

Rolling her eyes Judy humphed and added, "okay I get it I was being a dumb bunny again alright? "

she glanced ahead and sped up to catch up to their friend and added as she joined him near a small opening between the trees. "Sorry about that Ralph,"

He wolf grinned, careful not to show too many teeth and offered a fist bump to both Judy and Nick, "No Worries there Judy, My Nose, Your Ears and Nick's quick Wit's together we are a great team, and together we will find and document Big Paw! Am I right or what?"

Nick grinned and agreed, "Sure thing Bud."

Judy nodded and offered, "We better pick up the pace a bit if you want to get to Sutters Creek and have time to explore before we have to head back. If you want we can bring overnight camping stuff for another trip, but it won't be as comfortable as the Warren."

Wolfard grinned again and added with a wink as he surged ahead following the now sporadic trail of branches and disturbed bark on some of the trees, "Well we city Wolves like sleeping comfy so your family's hospitality is appreciated for sure."

"Let's see how successful we are and then decide if staying overnight will be necessary. I'm an old fox and need my comfy bed and my Carrots to cuddle."

"Ow" Nick rubbed his shoulder where Judy had boxed him for that remark. "You keep giving me those bruises Officer Hopps and I'll have to file a grievance."

"Well then Officer Wilde, I'll just file a motion with M.R. to have you apply for your old age pension."

Wolfard held up a paw and shushed them as faint and then slightly louder clacking noises came drifting from somewhere ahead of the trio. "Judy, you are the Ears of this outfit, can you take us in the direction of that clacking noise? It doesn't sound natural and if it's mammal made we should find out who is around so we can avoid getting in anyone's way."

Judy nodded and was all business as she took point, leading the way for a bit before Wolfard took over again. After about an hour of trudging through the woods, Nick was willing to call it a day, especially since there were now clouds of midges and other insects buzzing around. He flattened his ears back and watched his companions hoping to see that they too were getting tired of all this nature. Then he snorted to himself as Judy vaulted gracefully over a downed tree followed by the ever eager Wolfard. Gathering himself, Nick leaped over the log and rolled slightly to pop back onto his hind-paws.

Wolfard gave him a thumbs up and Judy blushed as she gave him a kiss after admiring his smooth move. "Slick moves there city fox."

As they reached the creek Wolfard noticed that the far bank rose fairly quickly from the rather flat and overgrown areas on this side.

Turning back towards the woods they had just come out of, he filmed several shots of the broken tree branches and then a wider shot of the creek here before offering, "Let's see if those strange paw marks are around here before we start heading back."

Judy and Nick both nodded and began filming with their phones as well sweeping along the banks looking for any disturbances. Much to Nick's surprise he again found several smudged marks that could, maybe be parts of paw marks like the ones they had filmed in the woods.

Wolfard's tail began to swish excitedly as his ears perked and he offered, "It looks fairly shallow here and the current isn't too fast for someone as large as me, I'm going to check to see if any of these marks show up on the other side of the bank. I'll only go about 200yards either way and then we can head back to the ATV's for today."

Nick ginned, "my aching tail thanks you oh mighty hunter."

"Hush YOU, besides for an old fox you look positively delicious and this will give me a chance to show you JUST how much I appreciate having you out here in the big bad woods to protect a little bunny like me Mr. Wilde."

Catching the bunny in mid jump as she made to hug him, Nick growled softly, "Is that SO Mrs. Wilde? Well then I hope Wolfard takes his time."

As they fell together beside the creek Nick whined as his hip took the brunt of their fall on the fortunately fairly soft dirt of the creek's edge. "Who am I kidding here Carrots, You will probably have to carry me back to the ATV's if this keeps up."

Both the fox and the bunny snickered and began to nuzzle in the sunshine beside the creek and neither noticed when two bunny sized shapes bounced from rock to rock and crossed the creek about fifty yards downwind of all three ZPD officers and high tailed it back into the woods headed roughly in the direction of the clearing where they had left the ATV's.

As the Hopps clan was getting everything ready for dinner, the older teens working the roadside stand were surprised when a large mammal sized, muscular, ZPD police cruiser pulled up to the stand and a very well built tigress got out and ambled easily over to the building, carefully removing her aviator styled sunglasses and placing them in the front pocket of her standard uniform shirt. Two pairs of long brown ears popped up from behind the slanted display of at least a dozen different kinds of fruits, vegetables and what smelled like fresh honey which sent the tiger's whiskers quivering. Sternly suppressing a smirk as she recognized the sight and smell of the blueberries that Nick and Judy often shared down at the station the tigress bent sightly so she could see the bunnies face to face making sure to stay back a bit.

A bit nervous at the sight of the MUCH larger than they were used to predator, Annette Hopps offered cautiously, "Can we help you mam?"

Nadine raised a brow and started to speak, the sign on the little stand said Hopps Family Farm so she figured she was on the right track, but with how many bunnies there were who lived in the Near-Boroughs back home it was no guarantee that these bunnies were actually Judy's family until she asked.

"Is this the same Hopps family farm whose daughter Judy Hopps…." Nadine ducked her head a little lower to see under the slanted terracotta tiled roof (bunny sized and so small for a tiger even before taking into account it was just a little roadside stop) when words failed her completely.

Nadine Fangmeyer, Precinct One's resident paw to paw expert and Sargent of her own T.U.S.K. unit was just about as tough as she thought she was but that was before she was ambushed again by the devastatingly effective secret weapon of Bunnyburrow. Sternly conquering the urge to run the tigress braced herself.

Tumbling from behind the stand came a rolling sea of little balls of fluff. Last time she and Wolfard had been out this way was when Nick and Judy had been working on uncovering that whole plot by Furzer Corporation and she knew what to expect this time. All ears, paws and fur with huge innocent eyes, the kerfluffle surged forward and squeaked at the sight of the tigress before dozens of wiggling noses took in her scent and then all she heard was "Stripey!" Before being overcome by the tidal wave of tiny bunnies. Shocked into action, Annette and Darlene jumped to the rescue but it still took almost ten minutes to completely uncover the tigress.

Groggy from the assault Nadine managed to mutter, "So Fluffy, Ugh,"

Before getting shakily to her feet and offering a careful paw to the two older bunnies. I'm Nadine and I work with Judy. I came out to…."

Both Buns jumped sharply as though on springs when Fangmeyer's phone went off with a sharp DING! And then several more in quick succession. Sighing Nadine ignored her phone and asked quickly since the kerfluffle was once again eyeing her from around the back of the stand on both sides. "I am looking for Wolfard, Ralph Wolfard. He's supposed to be staying with Judy Hopps' family. Am I close?"

Both nearly adult bunnies nodded gesturing behind them to where she could see a large barn and a pair of silos. The one on the left offered, "That's the North barn, the main house is right up the road, just keep going until you see a wide opening in the split-rail fence on the right pawed side of the road and the sign that says Hopps."

The one on the right chimed in brightly, "You can't miss it as long as you don't speed. It's probably a little low to the ground and small for you since it's bunny sized, but most things are around these parts."

Both bunnies turned in sync to demand, "Able, Carl, Denise…take the kerfluffle back to the house while we break down the stand. And send Jeremy with the bigger pickup truck."

Nadine smirked and replaced her sunglasses as three other nearly grown bunnies looked cautiously over at her and began to herd the fluffy mass of cuteness across the nearby field. She suppressed a chill as she recognized the bright blue flowers planted around the crops and noticed that even the youngest of the bunnies gave them a wide berth before nodding her thanks to the two does.

Looking at her messages on her phone she had to work hard to keep from snorting with laughter as yet another 'update' on the Big Paw hunt appeared on her screen. Starting the cruisers engine, she settled in for the last part of the drive and DID snort once the window was closed and she knew the bunnies wouldn't hear her. Since her plans to visit with her parents had fallen through she didn't have anything pressing and Judy HAD offered to have her visit sometimes so…there was no time like the present. Surprising Ralph might not end up being a good idea, but, with all the supposed proof he, Nick and Judy were coming up with her instincts were telling her that being here to keep an eye on them was going to be a very good thing.

Just a quick shout out, Fox in the Henhouse helped me with the woodsy bits and clues, and the ring-tone Nick programmed into Judy's phone for himself is That's How You Know from the Enchanted Soundtrack. ('cause I think he would be a romantic sap, all the while trying to maintain his 'cool' laid-back image on the job of course)

Also in this chapter I blatantly used the phrase farming isn't for sissies from a different fan fiction that I can't recall now.

I also got the name Cyril Stumptail and the family name Stumptail from King in Yellow's Zootopia story called Who Do You Trust on although it is only a name and not actually a full fledged character there.

Bailey Hopps is a really well done O/C by Selaxes on Ao3 (but I only used the name Bailey NOT any other part of his character for which I apologize since I didn't get to ask either of these authors if I could use these names.)

Annette and Darlene are a tribute to two of the original Mouseketeers.

I also used and referenced Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps excellent story Always My Sly Bunny Always My Dumb Fox here by using his pharmaceutical company called Furzer and the fact that Fangmeyer and Wolfard are ambushed by the Kerfluffle in this chapter. (this is actually where the idea for this what if came to me from so I wanted to reference it here.)


	4. Chapter 4

Big Paw Hunters

Chapter 4 It's called a Hustle Sweetheart!

Ralph grinned to himself as he took a running jump over the creek. He was a trained police detective and his enjoyment of the 'reality' TV he indulged in was his way of decompressing from his job. He knew very well what Wilde's opinion of the show was and that most of his pack only indulged him as a way to tease but that didn't make him stupid. He landed with a slight splash and shook off his hind paws, the creek wasn't that wide for him, but it would be quite a leap for someone as small as a bunny not that he was going to even hint at that idea out loud though.

His ears flicked slightly as he continued to explore. Wolfard snorted, amused at himself. Regardless of anything else, he knew what had happened when the younger males of his pack had gotten together for an extended howl over in Deerbrook county last year and this was the perfect opportunity to shut some of those whiners up. Glancing back and forth he moved toward the rocky area just above the bank of the creek. Breathing deeply he caught a faint but fresh whiff of bunny. The breeze was consistent now and glancing behind him he saw Judy tackling Nick and the two smaller mammals tumbling onto the land at the edge of the creek. He chuckled to himself at the sight and almost called back to his two smaller companions but….Instead he sighed as his thoughts turned to his not so secret love interest, His tigress partner Nadine Fangmeyer.

The powerfully built, tough as nails tigress had been his partner for most of the last two years and he wasn't entirely sure when his feelings for her had changed. But ever since Wilde and Hopps had been involved with that whole mess at Furzer the two of them were a constant reminder of his own feelings for Nadine. Fortunately, she had cornered him a few weeks ago and they had hashed out the fact that she liked him too and so far, everything had been going well. Unfortunately, Nadine had made plans to visit her parents alone this off rotation. Ralph had to admit, it was frustrating, but it was probably smart of them to wait for the next time their off rotation coincided with the actual weekend to schedule enough time off together to make the trip together to visit her parents.

Nadine was totally a city tiger but her parents traveled a lot and were currently visiting one of the Archipelagos. His pack and her parents would have to meet soon too that way neither family group would be left out but that was a worry for another day, especially since Nadine was already a fairly familiar face around his pack.

His tail which had been waving behind him as he thought of his tigress stilled as his anxiety built again. He and Nadine had hung out with the younger members of the pack a few times, and his parents hadn't tried to set him up on any 'dates' recently which was pretty promising; even if they hadn't officially met Nadine outside of her being his work partner yet or even said anything. His ears flicked back and forth before he shook himself all over and made his ears pop back upright. Meeting Nadine's parents though, that was something he wasn't really prepared for yet. They were nice enough whenever he'd heard them talking to their daughter over the phone, but they were really well...enthusiastic about finding Nadine a steady male.

Ralph felt himself flush as he remembered JUST how enthused they had been, but that had paled beside how they had gotten once she had accidentally let it slip that she already had someone. Nadine had been really stressed then, but her parents hadn't said anything else once that bomb had dropped. Right afterward though was when Nadine had decided to go and see her parents in person to try and deescalate their enthusiasm before bringing him along. Which was why he had wanted to use this down time to get away and relax, too bad he couldn't seem to get his mind off her for very long.

His body tensed as his instincts tickled along his spine. Sniffing cautiously, Wolfard listened as the breeze swirled around him. His senses were dialed up just from being in a different environment than his usual comfort zone of the urban sprawl of Zootopia but that was hardly an excuse since his buzzing thoughts didn't keep his subconscious from keeping him on task. Ralph paused as he realized there was more than a slight slope on this side of the creek. As he climbed, the trees and underbrush thinned and the ground became even rockier. He glanced behind himself to check how far from the creek bed he was and saw that he was only about twenty-five yards or so from the water. Because of the elevation he could also see Nick and Judy who had stopped snogging and were now waving at him. He waved back and his phone pinged and shook.

Answering it, he heard Nick at his snarky best, "OoooOOOOOO"

Ralph laughed out loud, "It doesn't work that way and you KNOW it short stuff."

The bad imitation howl cut itself off into a choked objection, as he watched the outline of Nick's ears fall back against his head. "Hey!" and a loud series of guffaws from the bunny he could just see now collapsed back on the ground.

Ralph made a mental note to tease Nick more a little later over that reaction. The two of them had a kind of unofficial rivalry come sometime partnership at the precinct when it came to harmless pranks and jokes to keep their co workers and friends upbeat, and it wasn't often that anyone got one up on the fox not even him.

Ralph's nose twitched, he smelled the sweet and slightly spicy scent of roses. The wolf sniffed deeply, his attention caught by the enticing scent; he was no longer paying a lot of attention to his friends…. Looking upwards and to his right, he noticed an unusual shadowed area tucked slightly above him in a fold of the rocky slope. Crouching cautiously he used his flashlight app to try and see into what looked to him to be a fairly small niche under a slight ledge wedged under a huge wild rose bramble. Poking his head in as far as he could, he gasped happily at what looked like marks on the inside of what could only be described as some sort of cave dug into the hill.

Nick was glaring good-naturedly at the still giggling bunny as he helped Judy back to her feet. His phone buzzed and Judy's giggling grew louder as the tune She wolf by Gazelle tinkled forth into afternoon.

"It's not that funny Fluff. You know I'm not short for a red fox, and as I recall…it was a certain bunny/cheetah team up that 'borrowed' my phone and changed all my ring-tones and sound settings during our lunch break yesterday. Hey Wolfie, what's up besides your ears?"

Nick's eyebrows rose as he turned in the direction Ralph had gone. Looking across the creek he could see the wolf waving and gesturing as his excited voice came over the cell phone.

"I need you guys to validate this! Can you and Judy come over to this side?"

Judy grinned and offered, "Race you Slick!"

Nick took the precaution of tucking his phone away before leaping after his bunny and catching up as she bounced from rock to rock to cross the creek.

"Make way fluff! Coming through!"

Nick dropped to all fours just long enough to catch his balance on the flat-ish rock Judy had just left. Using his momentum, and his slightly greater size, the fox leaped over her as her ears popped to attention at the sensation of her mate leaping over her.

Nick paused at the sight that met his eyes as he switched on his camera function and borrowed a phrase from his bunny, "Sweet Cheese and Crackers."

Judy managed to keep her smirk hidden as she sent a new text and began her own recording showing Wolfard crouched slightly panning along the wall to show scratches that could be some kind of intentional design and Nick whose tail tip was flicking slightly as he filmed his own angles of a pile of bracken against the back of the space.

As the intrepid hunters returned more or less triumphant from the wilds of the Hopps family's uncultivated lands they all noticed a big difference from when they first arrived. Seeing the large mammal sized ZPD cruiser dwarfing even the tractor parked by the shed. Judy gunned the engine of her ATV yelling over her shoulder as she pulled in front of the main barn, "Come ON you two! Something's up and we need to find out what's going on."

Wolfard shook off his happy daze, those videos were sure to make great entries for the contest. Nodding to Nick who was beside him the fox responded by revving the throttle of his machine and surging after his bunny, "Carrots, Wait!"

Running towards the front entrance to the warren, Judy flung open the door and froze before whipping out her phone to begin filming and snapping pictures. Rushing up to his mate, Nick felt his smile threaten to split his face in two as he whipped out his own phone. Seated cross legged in the huge main room was none other than Nadine Fangmeyer, their co-worker and the not so secret crush of Ralph Wolfard. She was using what was likely an entire ball of bunny sized yarn to play a game of cats cradle to entertain some of the Hopps Kerfluffle.

What had Judy and Nick frozen in place though was the fact that their own two kits were happily watching the tigress along with the rest of the younger kits. Ridley was being used as a pillow by one of Judy's youngest siblings until Ella squeaked and rolled the bunny off her brother in her bid to get closer to the action.

Fangmeyer's ears flicked as she objected gently, "Hey! That's not nice Ella. He's littler than you."

Ella's ears drooped for a second as she glanced down at the other kit and then back to the calm tigress and the bunny in question rolled over and promptly cuddled back up against Ridley. Several other bunnies had shifted at the interruption before the tigress caught their attention again with the rhythmic patterns of yarn.

Bonnie Hopps came into the room with a smile and offered, I made you some blackberry tea Officer. Oh! Hello Bun Bun. You are back earlier than I expected."

At this the kerfluffle shifted and Nick gulped but Fangmeyer let loose with what was for her a very low purr as she accepted a ceramic bowl full of steaming goodness. This snapped the fluffle's attention back to her as she took in the fox and bunny just inside the doorway and added, "What exactly have you two been getting my partner into anyway?"

Ralph pulled up beside Nick's ATV and paused for a moment as the fresh scent hit his nose before shutting down his four wheeler and loping up to the front porch. He paused as he ducked his head so he could fit through the front door and ignored the kerfluffle as he realized that Nadine was in fact HERE!

Just then there was a flicker and Nadine blinked and pulled the helmet from her head. "What gives Ralph?"

Lifting the PIXAR helmet from his head, Ralph's ears perked as he grinned at Nadine and offered, "We don't really need to go through that next bit again do we Nadine?"

A knowing, smug filled voice offered from the other PIXAR booth, "You mean the part where you get swamped by the Fluffle again and when Nadine try's to get you out you both end up getting rescued by Judy using the Big Paw costume her brother built?"

Nick's smirk widened as his bunny took his paw and added with a warm smile at the other two, "I bet it's the part where he and Nadine spend some 'quality time' on the porch Slick." The smug fell off his muzzle as Judy kissed him lightly and she added, "We can always share some of OUR 'quality time' memories of that trip with Nadine and Ralph if you want."

Nadine laughed, "No thanks. You two are already the poster kits for nauseatingly sappy stories at the precinct. Come on you guys. Let's go for a walk over by the central plaza. We spend too much time sitting doing paperwork and I need to move."

Nick started to purchase the session when Nadine's paw swept the USB sticks from the counter and put the fee for them in their place. "Oh no you don't NICK! I'll let you two have a copy eventually."

The foursome stepped out onto the sidewalk after saying thanks to Flitwik the panther who owned the arcade. It was still fairly early since they had cut their session in the PIXAR machine short and there were a lot of mammals roaming around the neighborhood. Most were probably looking for either a bite to eat or deciding what they were going to do with their evening but from the looks of the herds shifting along there were a fair number still headed towards the shops and entertainments scattered throughout this district so their group wasn't very out of place as they moved along.

Nadine's whiskers twitched as a slight smile graced her muzzle at the sight of Ralph's key chain as he happily slipped them back in his pocket after checking his phone notifications. The distinctive logo of the Hunt for Big Paw show and the way his tail swayed gave her an idea to distract Nick and Judy from getting their paws on the footage of her entertaining the Hopps kerfluffle with the ancient string game. "Judy you never DID explain about how you all managed to 'find' that cave so quickly."

Judy nodded before taking Nick's paw and moving across the street towards one of the food carts that dotted this part of Savannah Central. She pulled them along chattering quickly and a little nervously as her nose gave a little wiggle, "It's basically like Ralph said at the 10-7 before we left for the weekend….Our family tends to know that area really well and once I knew Ralph wanted to enter the contest I had my brothers Bailey and Briar get the ATV's ready and my sister had already seen some signs of disturbances when she went with Thistle to the creek so…."

The tigress sniffed and noticed that Judy's ears were too stiff to be in a natural position and even though she was trying very hard to mask it, she seemed to be getting a little more…uneasy despite her usual comfort level with them. Deciding to back off Nadine started to change the subject when Nick's ears flicked and he drew Judy into a quick side arm hug before gesturing to the food carts parked along the entryway to the park across the street.

Nick glanced at his bunny and decided to help her out. She had come a long way from the naive country bumpkin who he had teased when they first met, but one thing Zootopia's first bunny cop still lacked was a decent poker face as far as he was concerned.

Stepping up to the plate so to speak he made sure to flick his ears towards the cart he was trying to get Nadine interested in he offered, "OOOOooo! Look Carrots, they have a tea cart right next to the Panda Picnic one tonight."

Recognizing a verbal cue if ever she heard one, Nadine decided to go along with the surprisingly obvious ploy and went over to the cart to order a tiger sized, hot Chai tea and a slightly smaller iced version for Ralph. Striding over to the cart that held the attention of the two males she rolled her eyes knowingly as the two practically drooled over the sweet and sour veggie kabobs and the cheese, soy cube and rice stuffed bell peppers on the menu at the Panda Picnic cart. Judy meanwhile was looking over the 3 different kinds of noodles with the kind of focused intent that usually meant trouble for some criminal.

Nadine offered, "the mixed veggie Mei Fun is usually good here, and I'm going to get their Pred special Low Mien. Nodding along Judy decided on the Vegetable Mei Fun with an extra helping of stir fried vegetables before turning to Nick to gasp.

"Wow! Those look really good Nick"

Nick's patented smug expression number six was in full view as he slurped one of his skewers clean and moved towards one of the benches by the fountain.

"I DO have excellent taste. I'm glad you are finally catching on my dear Bunny. I'm going to enjoy the rest of these and go back for one of the shaved ices at the tea cart. You just let me know if you want to share."

Judy laughed, gesturing to his off duty attire of a yellow Pawaiian shirt and grey khaki pants to offer, "Your 'excellent' taste still doesn't extend to your off duty wear Slick, but I'm up for a cherry shaved ice with some Rennyu."

Nick grinned as Wolfard's ears perked toward the bunny before the well muscled wolf muttered, "She's been studying again, this is going to be one of those weeks I bet."

Nick offered, "It will be okay Buddy. Ever since the leopard cats Sota and Rio moved onto our floor of the apartment building Carrots here has been researching their culture and it's adorable when she gets the chance to show it off. Rennyu is just their word for the sweetened condensed milk you can add to it, and I have to say, that is always a good way to eat shaved ice no matter what flavor I've tried and the beans are flavorful and have some protein too."

Judy's ears went limp for a second as her nose twitched before she boxed Nick sharply on the shoulder and apologized, "Sorry Ralph, I wanted to make our newest neighbors feel welcome and it's easier to remember things if I use them. I wasn't trying to…."

"OW! Watch the paws there Judy. I'm not taking back the adorable comment, so you just finish up your noodles and I'll go get the dessert."

Nadine grinned as she and Ralph took their leave of the fox and bunny duo who were still sharing their large mammal sized cone of flavored ice and stewed adzuki beans and dairy. Carefully hip bumping her partner, Nadine looked over at Ralph and raised a brow as she watched him finish photographing the scene and return his phone to his pocket.

"You are going to get in a real pickle with those two if they get any teasing from that picture Ralph."

Ralph replied, "Naw, Nick's a good sport and I still owe him for that whole incident in the break room last week. Besides I'm not crazy enough to tick off those two. Our usual PT training sessions are next month and I'm not looking to have Chief Bogo set me up with Judy for a sparring partner. Between her kick boxing, her agility and the fact that I have to watch myself because of our size differential, it's just not worth a few pictures. This is for Bonnie and Elaine."

Surprise colored Nadine's voice as they disappeared into one of the underground stations to head homeward, "You are being a paparazzi for Nick and Judy's Mother-in-laws?"

Wolfard scoffed, "Of course I AM. Haven't you TASTED their food? Mrs. Wilde will make me a whole batch of cookies for these pics and don't even TRY and get me to share Mrs. Hopp's cobbler!"

Nadine's brow rose at this as Ralph continued waving his arms and getting really into his side of the issue, "You are the best paw to paw fighter in the day shift and we all know it. But I'll cheat to get as much of that cobbler as I can."

Laughing Nadine ruffled her wolf's fur and gave him a noogie before going down the stairs after him. "You don't have to cheat Ralph. Mrs. Hopps already offered to send me a care package and if you are a god boy I don't mind sharing."

Nick waited while Ralph and Nadine moved out of easy hearing range but he didn't even try to speak until he saw Judy's ears quiver and she nodded as she accepted the bite of shaved ice from the wooden spoon he held.

"Thanks for your help back there Nick. I almost lost it back there."

"No Worries Carrots. Your poker face IS getting better, but after all the trouble you and your family went through to let Ralph get that 'proof' I'd hate to disappoint him by accident now."

Judy nodded and fed her fox a bite from her spoon as she added with a little smile, "Yep he is SO proud of his drink coozy set, Key chain and his commemorative t shirt."

Nick snorted, the 'prize package' Ralph had been sent wasn't exactly top tier material; but all in all seeing their friend so excited and happy was definitely worth the trouble they had gone through.

He hid a slight blush by flicking his ears down as he recalled having been cornered by Judy's grandfather Otto 'pop pop' Hopps. The old bunny had been surprisingly calm about his being a fox and being part of the Hopps warren once he and Judy had been married. Even more so after Ella and Ridley had come along. But having the oldster ask for tips on how to improve their Big Paw hunting hustle into a more manageable Mares Nest had been more than a bit of a shock. A proud little smirk he just couldn't keep entirely off his muzzle gave him away as he recalled what had gone on between himself and the Patriarch buck.

Otto had been forthright and began, "Say there Foxy. I recon you and yourn are right handy with this sort of thing and I'm right impressed that you are willin' to go along with these shenanigans."

Nick had looked over at the buck as he seated himself in his rocking chair. Nick finished sending the video files to Wolfard's phone and settled on the step below the porch to put his head closer to the old bunny so they could chat quietly. "Why should I give your game away old timer? You aren't charging Wolfard and he's enjoying himself. Besides I figure this little hustle must be a good way to get some extra income out here, what with gullible city mammals traipsing around needing guides, ATV's and food and all. I figure between the TV show, the various add exposure for the local produce and such you all get in Zootopia by sponsoring the show and 'hunters' coming around in the fall after most of your stuff is harvested. This whole area gets a boost and from what I've been able to pick up most of Bunny Borrow is involved one way or another and you all seem to look out for the city slickers so… what's the harm?"

Otto had laughed until he had a rather alarming wheezing spell and had slapped Nick on his shoulder, reminding him of which side of Judy's family she had inherited her boxing skills from as the hit had smarted for a good while afterward before offering a suspicious flask and a grin, "That's the spirit! I knew Judy'd make a Hopps out of you. Let's see what you can add to the family hobby eh?"

Judy smiled to herself at the look on her foxes face, she KNEW that look. It was smug face number eight and one of her personal favorites since he only looked like that when a good memory was passing through. "Come on Nick. Let's get on home. Your Mom isn't going to bring Ella and Ridley back until after lunch tomorrow if she follows her usual pattern and I am feeling the urge to snuggle."

Nick's whole body quivered as his long, luxurious tail swayed and he snapped out of his revery to answer, "Your wish is my command. Especially if it means some quality time with my favorite snuggle bunny. OW!"

"I'd better be your only snuggle Bunny there Slick!"

"Of course you are Judy, besides…You know you LOVE me."

Judy grinned as the familiar warmth filled her chest as she answered the familiar phrase, "Do I know that? Yes, Yes I Do." and together they were lost amid the other mammals of Zootopia.

Final Authors Note: Alrighty, This is Irual here and I wanted to thank everyone who has been so patient with me about this fic. I adore this whole concept and as a reader and a writer I hope some (if not all) of these ideas are continued someday. Real life has been quite a bit of a bear for me over the last year. Also if I am being Honest, I have often gotten side tracked by reading other people's delightful stories about our favorite Fox and Bunny. But I have finished this installment for the What IF at LAST so….

Dear Cimar this is my gift to you and all the rest of the wonderful people who have been so nice to me as together we have enjoyed this fandom and each other. Here's hoping for many more stories and more fun to come for all of us.

Thanks again to you all and please look for my next chapter of Zootopia 2 Learning Curve on FF . Net and eventually on Ao3 soon if all goes well. It is truly a privilege and a pleasure to be part of this story and this fandom, so thanks again Cimar for letting me be part of this.

Your friend and Pen Pal,

Irual


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